I had the amazing opportunity to review Rough Cut, a proof of concept feature piece whose script has already been placed at the Austin Film Festival and Slamdance. Here, we watch streaming siren Scared Stiff with Tiff as she takes us through scary movie scenes and tells us how it’s done.
On Halloween night, an isolated video editor/streamer is hired to cut together a horror movie made by a masked killer, only to discover that the cinematic “scenes” are real.
Writer/director Mitchell Slan really knows how to bring someone in. At exactly 1 minute into this seven-minute proof, I stopped to write this paragraph of the review because I just had to rave about how pumped I am for the remaining six minutes. Scared Stiff with Tiff (played by Kayla Cromer) is everything a horror nerd like me aspires to be — a bomb-ass streaming set-up, a really cool horror persona, genre knowledge, the works. Even her title intro is amazing; I would subscribe for sure! Rough Cut‘s editing is smooth and cinematography is stylish with music adding this exciting movement. I feel like I’m at a Halloween party that I never want to end.
And that’s just the intro. Like a dagger plunged into our guts, Mr. Cackle shows up. A grotesque smile and insane laughing jolts you out of that party-induced stupor and bathes your eyeballs in bloodshed. There are plenty of POV shots, backlighting, fades, and jumps that lead us to the realization that something may be amiss with this video…
… and that’s where we leave off. When I tell you I was — no, am — shook? Mannnnn…
I have seen a few proofs of concept and generally they’re all good. Rough Cut is truly on another level. From this very short story, I get so much energy from everyone, regardless of if they’re featured on-screen or not. Rough Cut has all the makings of a fast-paced, big-budget film but all the soul and passion of indie horror enthusiasts. Rough Cut blew me away, and I cannot wait until the feature gets made. We’re entering a new generation of Final Girls and Horror Icons; I have no doubt that Tiff and Mr. Cackle will join those ranks as well.
